Carbon 456's

Thinking of getting a carbon 456 and just wondered what the durability and a ability to take knocks is like. Never had a carbon bike before and i suppose i still think of them as plastic, waiting to shatter at the first sign of a tumble.

Durability wise, mine has been absolutely fine, I treat it like a metal bike. There’s a lot of material in them so it’s not like some skinny XC bike. Cosmetically it’s ****ed though, finish is I think the worst I’ve ever had on a bike, if that matters to you. Frankly if cosmetics are important it’s probably not the right bike anyway 😉

I’ve ridden a carbon whippet all year in the peak, so skinnier than the 456, and it’s been flawless.
It was sort of an experiment that I didn’t think it would survive, (I’m a stout rider), but it’s been right as rain.

Would have no worries whatsoever on the C456 durability. I think if you’re happy with can tolerate the looks then it’s a great versatile bike.

Well, it looks like it was carved out of soap then left in the bath 😆 Not a pretty bike.

But the finish on mine’s simply very bad- chips and scrapes very easily, it had as many stone chips on the seattube after the first ride as my Cotic had after 2 years. But I guess the cheap has to go somewhere.

I have had my C456 for a year and it has been flawless. Raced it at Ten under the Ben and was delighted with it, passing full sussers on the downs too. F’ing great fun. And I don’t agree that it’s not a good looking bike. I think mine is beautiful . Eye of the beholder and all that.

Looks fine to me, had one for just over a year, been told I’m a lot faster up and down than on my FS bike. Mine just calls me a wuss when trail gets gnarly, it will make you throw it down more stuff faster than before. Enjoy

They look worse in photos than in the flesh IMO. Great lightweight frames tho. I bought a raw frame with the intention of not being too proud of it’s cosmetic looks long term. Great for lightweight xc mincing, throwing around and tougher terrain/stuff. I really wanted a yellow one when they were cheap, but thought better of it, purely for cosmetic reasons.

Great bike, frame’s responsive & F.U.N, finish can get scratched but throwing stuff down mountains does tend to damage any finish even on a steel bike. You could leave yours in the shed if you’re that bothered. Mine’s the black & red one & it still looks pretty good after over a year, in fact a die hard full suss aficionado reckons it’s the only frame that would turn him to the dark side 😀

Carbon is good enough to protect an F1 driver in the cockpit from 200mph crashes, it’s good enough for throwing around on a bike.

There are always ways to break it though, but don’t worry about the plastic feel (it’s not plastic anyway) or horror stories about scratching it and it’ll fall apart, or it not being strong in certain directions. The only things that will break it are the same things that will break a steel or ali frame. In fact more likely to break those frames than carbon.

And yeah, the top tube length is long, hence I went with 16″ frame and mine is still longer than my medium (18″) full sus.

Only issue I see people having is with the paint finishes which seem to crack. Mine’s undecaled raw and fine if has an odd finish look to it, but out in the wild it’s a nice stealthy black look.

Get one, put a 50mm stem on it and match it with a pair of 150 thru bolt forks of your choice and start grinning.
I hated mine when I first built it up. It took several stem/bar/fork changes to make it come alive. That top tube is long.
Love it to bits now. Bonus is as its carbon and swoopy its a doddle to clean.

Yes, 2 degree On One/Works Component, the top photo is with On One poo headset which didn’t last very long. Felt strange at first (even tho I’d previously had a Summer Season), but was great in The Dolomites a few months ago. The 2 Degree will give you Summer Season like geometry.

I guess the best way would be go see if they’ve got an evo hung up in the showroom, see if I like the slacker feel. Was the original headset a pig to remove? I remember thinking when I fitted mine that it’d take some getting out!